The Gilligan Files
by phantasiagirl
Summary: Because even an evil commander can have a mild-mannered alter ego. A collection of one-shots focusing on Gill and his family, ranging in genres. Chapter 6: "Compromise"
1. The Return of Commander Gilligan!

Hurr, sorry for the shitty title. I thought it was somewhat appropriate (or it just means I have no creativity. Whatever). Sooo...yeah. First fanfiction (well...I don't think oneshots count?) in AAAAGES. I've been kind of obsessed with Harvest Moon lately, namely Animal Parade. Specifically one Gill Hamilton. Mmmm, hot stuff. But anyway, this idea slowly formed in my head after I married Gill and was watching the Harvest Rangers one day. I thought "so that would make me the evil commander's wife? Then his kid would be..." and voila.

Also, this might get turned into a one (or two) shot collection, should I get any more plot bunnies and feel inclined to sit down and write them out (though for now, this will be labled as "complete"). All of them, including this one, will probably also be un-beta'd so please forgive any grammar mistakes. But yes! Tell me what you think!

* * *

To be honest, she only really kept them for Finn. The little Harvest Sprite never grew tired of watching his favorite show every Sunday and so Molly thought it'd be a good idea to record it for when it was finally taken off the air.

And okay, fine, she thought the villains were hilarious.

Nevertheless, she hadn't brought out the videos in so long that she'd honestly forgotten about them. It wasn't until she was making dinner and the old familiar theme song began drifting towards the kitchen did she poke her head out to the living room and see her four year old daughter sitting in front of the television with a pile of videos strewn around her. Finn was perched on top of her head and watching the screen with as much interest as Emma. "Emma? What are you watching?" she asked, her lips quirking up into a small smile.

"Nothing." Emma replied absently, completely enraptured by the characters on the screen _(T__hat's space devil! Space Devil Hamil!! On no! Our cow was taken. What should we do, Harvest Goddess?)_. Molly just shook her head and wandered back over to the kitchen to finish dinner. It wasn't until about 45 minutes later did the front door open and Emma's attention was wrenched from the TV. "Daddy!" she squealed, jumping up (and knocking Finn over in the process) to run over and hug the man around the knees.

Gill smiled and extracted his daughter from his legs before bending down to give her a kiss on her forehead. "Hey there, Emma. Did you have a good day with you mother today?"

She beamed and nodded. "Uh-huh! Belle's gonna have her baby soon!"

"Really?" He looked over at his wife for confirmation. She nodded.

"I'd say tomorrow or the next day. I'm going to call Cain tomorrow for help. I can't do it alone."

Gill frowned a bit as he turned to hang up his jacket. "I can stay home tomorrow if you want."

Molly giggled and shook her head before disappearing back to the kitchen. "No thanks. Remember the last time you tried to help with a birth?"

Gill felt his cheeks begin to warm as his daughter happily yelled out, "Daddy fainted!"

He coughed lightly into his hand and glanced up briefly to the TV before looking back at Emma. "What are you watching?" It looked rather familiar…and not necessarily in a good way.

"Cartoons!" she responded, giggling before bounding back to Finn, whom she'd left disgruntled on the floor. She picked him up and set him in her lap so they could continue watching their show. (_Hey, you, give us back the cow! Tsk, you got me... You can't escape now! I'm going to call for backup, then!_) Gill felt his eyebrow twitch. Yes, it seemed all too familiar...

He wandered over to his wife, who was still busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. She turned around at the sound of his approach and smiled before giving him a small kiss. "Welcome back. We're having spaghetti tonight."

He returned the gesture but then his lips pressed into a small suspicious frown. "That show sounds familiar..." he commented somewhat distractedly, trying to place it.

Molly bit back a giggle and turned back to the food. "Does it? I didn't know you watched cartoons."

His frown deepened and a faint blush colored his cheeks pink. "I-I don't! This just..."

She laughed openly now as she scooped the spaghetti onto the plates, making sure to add extra sauce to both Gill's and Emma's. It seemed looks weren't the only things their daughter inherited from her father. With a plate in each hand, she walked out to the dining room, but not without pausing to murmur in his ear, "Well, it should, _Commander Gilligan_."

"Mommy, what's wrong with Daddy?" Emma asked as she skipped over to the table with Finn, the smell of food finally wrenching the two of them from their show. (_Commander Gilligan!!! Huh!? Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Who's that? Hem, I am Commander Gilligan!_) "He's making some funny noises."

"Don't worry, he just remembered something." Molly smiled sweetly at her daughter as she placed the plate in front of her.

"Oh." The little girl fell silent for a few moments as she grabbed her fork and began to twirl it around and around in the pasta. Once Gill regained enough composure to sit down again, she looked up to him. "Hey, Daddy?"

"Hm?" Emma wondered why his face was pink. And why her mommy looked like she was going to burst.

She paused again, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Does that make me Captain Emma?" When all she received was an eyebrow raise in response, she tried again. "I've heard Mommy call you Commander Gilligan before and you're in my show so…am I Captain Emma?"

There was a long pause. Finn was the one that started laughing first, with Molly not far behind. Gill's face turned a spectacular shade of red and he coughed into his fist. "I-I suppose you could say that…" he said finally, sounding embarrassed.

Emma's face brightened and she flashed a toothy smile. "Yay! Oh, but I'm not going to be a bad guy though. I'll fight for justice!" She pumped a fist in the air for dramatic effect before lowering it and gasping. "Daddy, maybe THAT'S why Mommy's animals don't like you! Don't be mean to them, okay?" She glared at her father, cheeks puffing out a bit.

Molly had push away her food to rest her forehead against the table at this point, she was laughing so hard. Gill just pursed his lips, but nodded anyway. "I won't."

Emma still didn't look convinced. "Promise?"

He nodded again. "Promise."

"Pinky pro--"

"Emma, finish your food."

"...Kay." she grumbled. Tomorrow a serious talk with her grandpa was in order, that was for sure.

* * *

Emma totally wants those bitchin sunglasses too, fo sho.

Pffft, I dunno, Gill always struck me as getting veeeery embarrassed if the Sprite Rangers show were ever to be brought up in conversation. Hamilton on the other hand, he probably got a kick out of the whole thing. XD


	2. Reassurance

Dun nanana! I return. So I got this idea once I read about Gill's backstory and how his mom died when he was the tender age of seven. ;_; Then it kind of hit me what his 15 heart line could refer to and my heart broke. Oh Gilligan, you silly goose, Molly's not going anywhere.

So again, I have an even more horrible title and this is un-beta'd (I might start looking for one) and will probably be reuploaded whenever I feel like redoing it. Unless there's something horrendously embarrassing. Then I'll reupload it ASAP. Reviews are love!

Oh, and I figured that I should explain this before I go any further with the stories. The reason that Gill can see Finn is because he was already kind of able to see him from the very beginning. So I figure, with enough "exposure" and just being around Molly would help him eventually be able to fully see them.

* * *

_  
I...I knew from the very start that I wouldn't be able to see her anymore. Even at the young age I was then, I knew better than to ask something as silly as that. But even still, I tried not to think about it. Instead I focused on her face, how serene she looked against the lavender flowers she loved so much, and how her lips seemed to tilt ever so slightly upwards in contentment. My mother had been sickly ever since I could remember and as of late, her bad days were starting to outnumber the good ones. To be honest, a tiny part of me was happy. Happy, at least because that meant she didn't have to look at me with that smile that looked like she was in so much pain. _

_I also knew, however, that I wouldn't be able to see any of her smiles ever again. This weighed heavier on my heart more than anything else. I looked up at my father for comfort but he just stood there beside me, a hollow look in his eyes. This scared me. I gave his hand a squeeze and fortunately, this seemed to snap him out of the haze he was in and he knelt down to engulf me in a hug. What he said next I won't ever forget, if only because it filled me with such pain that I finally broke down for the first time since the funeral began._

"_Gill...I've lost everything."_

_In the months that followed, it really did seem to be that way. The loss of my mother...the loss of his _wife_ seemed to break him a little more each day. And there was nothing I could do about it._

Gill awoke with a start. It took him a moment to register his surroundings in the dark, even though they'd been the same for almost a year now. He slowly sat up in bed and brought a hand to his chest in an attempt to slow the accelerated beating of his heart before taking a deep breath. It was strange...it had been a long time since he'd dreamed about _that_. The dreams would start to come during mid-spring, when the anniversary would draw near. But it was nearing the end of fall now, and the nights were growing steadily colder. Shaking his head, he turned to glance over at the space beside him...only to find it empty.

With his brain not yet fully awake and the old feelings the dream brought on still fresh in his heart, Gill's first instinct was to panic. It was the middle of the night, his wife was nowhere to be found, and this scared him more than anything. Though the sheets were more or less haphazardly shoved aside, the mattress was already cool. She'd been gone for a while. He threw off the covers and jumped out of bed but he was only able to take a few steps before the front door opened. "Molly?" he called out, heart pounding.

"Gill?" Though he couldn't see her face in the dark, she sounded genuinely surprised. "What are you doing up?"

"I..." he trailed off, glancing back towards the bed helplessly before looking back at his wife. He briefly caught a glimpse of her worried expression in the glow of Finn's aura before the tiny harvest sprite flew back outside. "You weren't in bed so..."

Molly quickly shrugged off her coat and hung it on the rack by the door before hurrying over to him. "Finn sensed something was wrong in the barn so we went to take a look. A good thing too...Daisy's sick. Finn's going to keep an eye on her until I can go over to Horn Ranch later this morning for some medicine but..." she stopped, finally getting a good look at Gill's pale face. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, placing a hand gently against his cheek. "Gill?"

Gill let out a long breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding. "I'm...fine," he murmured, reaching up to grasp her hand in his. The feel of her skin against his comforted him. "Just...I had an unpleasant dream, that's all."

The small frown that she'd been wearing since she'd entered the house deepened a fraction. "Do you want to talk about it...?"

After some hesitation he shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Lips curving into a small smile, he lightly gripped her shoulder and began steering her in the direction of the bed. "Let's go back to sleep." When he saw that Molly's expression didn't change, he placed a kiss on her cheek. "Really, I'm fine."

"If you say so..." she mumbled, kicking off her shoes and climbing back into bed.

Gill just sighed and followed suit, wrapping his arms snugly around her and smiling again when she turned around to reciprocate the gesture. He pressed his lips gently against her forehead and closed his eyes. "Molly..."

"Hm...?" she already sounded like she was half-asleep. He hesitated. He knew it was irrational, he knew it wouldn't happen, but still...

"Sometimes, I get scared that you might disappear." He whispered.

There was no response for several minutes. Gill was beginning to think that Molly was already fast asleep until he caught her almost unintelligible response.

"Don' w'rry...I'm here…" she squeezed his waist lightly. "I'll always be…"

Gill's eyes widened a fraction and he didn't say anything for a moment before a light chuckle escaped his lips. His wife was too strong for that. She worked hard on the farm every day, getting up early every morning to tend to both the crops and animals. She might not know how to knit and she wasn't the best cook around but that was okay. She wasn't his mother. She was _his _wife and no one else's. "You're right... It's so stupid, I don't know why I even think about it."


	3. Have a Little Faith

Mmph the lack of reviews is kind of depressing. Oh well...Anyway, this one was inspired by my own purchase of the ocean plot...I decided to buy it before the river plot and doing so absolutely decimated my savings. Heh. My first thought was "Ahaha, Gill's going to be piiiiiissed~!" And thus, this was born. Although it turned out to be a lot more difficult to write than I thought...

By the way, my defense near the end is that Gill is a mushball after marriage. 8|

* * *

Gill couldn't believe it.

He'd read the numbers three times already. He'd even double-checked it a fourth, just to make sure he was looking at those numbers right.

His first thought was that they'd been robbed. What other explanation could there be for the farm's assets to drop from over 160,000G to a little under 3,000G? But who would want to rob them though? Although the farm was fairly successful, the money was a result of their—well, his wife's hard work. It wasn't an easy money making machine. Everyone on Castanet knew that.

As Gill continued to think about it, however, another explanation slowly came to mind. He recalled Molly talking about her grand new plans for the farm once they were able to afford more land. He had assumed she was talking about the small plot of land next to the river. She couldn't have meant…

"Molly!" he burst into the barn where she was busy brushing the animals. Though her cows and sheep looked only somewhat annoyed by his entrance, he could've sworn her horse _glared_. No, he was sureof it.

Brush still in hand, she quickly turned around from Euphie to look at him and almost immediately gave way to concern. "Gill? What's wrong?"

He didn't say anything for a second and merely held up the folder that contained the records. "Why…is there only three thousand in the account?? Last week it was over fifty times that!" He knew he was probably being a tad overdramatic (judging from her expression) but Gill certainly felt justified in being so.

Molly stared at him blankly for several moments, brows furrowed slightly in confusion, before she spoke. "I told you I was going to buy a new plot of land. I've been talking about it for a long time now."

"I thought you were referring to the land by the river!"

The furrowing deepened and she began to look slightly annoyed. "Why would I buy a smaller plot of land if I planned to turn the current one into an orchard…?"

"I thought you—" Gill began again, only to cut himself off with a furious shake of his head. "My point is, you need to learn to spend wisely! We're almost broke. How are we going to survive with less than three thousand?? I don't want to borrow money from any—"

"Gill." Molly slowly strode over to him, her hands slightly raised as if she was trying to calm a frightened animal. "Calm down. It's not like we're short on food or anything. Sure, things will be a little tight for a while but we'll be okay. I saved up some seeds from last year and besides, fall is a really productive season."

He shook his head again, hand clenching around the documents he held. "You don't understand, you're not just living for yourself anymore. We're tied into this together now! You trade the "I" for "we" when you get married, Molly! Again, you're just not thinking ahead…crops aren't that reliable!"

Molly's eyes widened. "That's not true…you know that crops are what bring in the most—"

"And what about the typhoons last season?" he reminded her, causing her to flinch. "Twice, they wiped out over half the field. Twice, we had to start over again! You need to think of the consequences! Molly—"

"Gill!" she shouted, cutting him off mid-rant. Gill slowed to a halt. He hadn't even realized he'd been furiously pacing back and forth. Bringing a hand to massage his temple, he turned back around to face her…and upon seeing her expression, whatever he was going to say died in his throat.

She was furious. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and her eyes were filled with anger. But what surprised him the most was that they were also filled with…tears. She was crying…? Gill felt his own rage flicker weakly before simply vanishing altogether. "M-Molly…" he began weakly, letting his hand slide down his face and hang limply at his side.

"I-If you're so upset about this…if you don't think you can handle any of this then…then you shouldn't have married a farmer!" she spat, throwing the brush down on the floor before storming out of the barn.

Everything was completely silent in the barn following her exit. Even the animals were quiet, choosing instead to glare daggers at Gill, who was left flabbergasted for the second time that day. However, he didn't seem to notice them this time and was instead replaying his rant in his head. It was the look on her face…the look on his wife's face that kept pausing in his mind and it caused his heart to clench painfully in his chest.

She was a farmer. He knew that. She'd been living and working here for over a year before they'd gotten married. She was used to roughing it out when she needed to. But Gill…even after his mother had died, he and his father were still well-off. He didn't have much to worry about other than the well-being of the town. He worked hard, but not the same way she did. He knew this when he married her and moved from his home to hers. She had asked him if he'd be okay marrying someone like her, someone whose lifestyle was so different from hers. He'd assured her that he'd be fine. Both of them could pull through anything, as long as they had each other.

So…why was he losing faith at every opportunity?

Shaking his head furiously, Gill turned on his heel and strode out of the barn. He looked around frantically for any sign of Molly and his heart sank when he found that she was nowhere in sight. Sighing, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his white slacks and began to head back to the house when he caught sight of her sitting over by the new field. He hesitated for a moment, unwilling to approach her when she still might be mad. However, it didn't take long for Gill to push his apprehension aside and he made his way over. She let out a long sigh as he approached and glanced back at him. Though she still looked as if she'd been crying, she still gave him a small apologetic smile. Wordlessly, Gill sat down next to her and the two looked out over the cliff the plot was situated near and out towards the sea.

They both started at the same time. "I'm sorry."

And awkward pause filled the space between them and they both couldn't help but chuckle. "No, really…you're right." Molly murmured, drawing her knees to her chest as she lowered her gaze. "I…I should have talked to you more. I should have made sure you were okay with it first."

"I shouldn't have overreacted the way that I did," Gill replied with a frown as he ran a hand through his hair.

"You had every right to," she said simply.

"No," he shook his head, "Not that way. I know…I know about the mining reserve you have for emergencies."

Her eyes widened and she blushed. "How did you--?"

He smirked. "You didn't think I would find out? They're right there in the back corner of the shelves, Molly. It's not like they were well hidden." When her blush darkened, his smirk smoothed out into a smile and he returned his gaze to the field. "But…even knowing that, I still lost my temper. I-I don't even know why, to be honest." Molly opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a hand so he could continue. "But the thing is I should have more faith in you. You're the one who knows what you're doing and you've been at this for over a year and a half now. I…I'm barely learning how to water crops properly," he could feel his cheeks begin to heat up at this statement and she giggled.

"You're doing so well though!"

"Thank you," he replied, the color on his face darkening even further. This was embarrassing. "But…what I'm trying to say is that we're in this together and I don't regret it. I haven't for a second."

Her eyes widened at this and she looked away, biting her lip. "Gill…but—"

"I don't regret marrying you, Molly."

A few seconds of silence passed before she looked back at him with a wide smile. "Good," she whispered before leaning over to kiss him lightly on the lips. Before he could respond however, she pulled back and stood up. "Come on, I want to show you something," she held out her hand. Curious, Gill took it and rose to his feet. With a small smile on her face, Molly tugged him into the field amongst the crops. "Watch your step."

"Molly, what's—"

"I planted these a few days ago. Look, they're already sprouting." She gestured to the small green shoots that popped up from the ground across the whole expanse of land. "And once we can afford the plot by the river, I can stop buying my fodder from Horn Ranch for good. I know I can easily grow it here too but…well, we should recoup our losses sooner rather than later, right? And don't worry, I'm not planning to buy any more land for a while."

Gill's lips quirked into a small smile. "Just let me know next time, okay?"

"Of course!"

They stood there contently in the field for a while, before Gill noticed something. He'd been raiding the bookcase every day since they got married, studying about all the different crops for each season and what they looked like in each stage of growth. His eyes narrowed at the sprout by his feet and he bit his lip. They seemed to stretch on for quite a while."Molly."

"Hm?" she responded, intertwining her fingers with his and resting her head against his shoulder with a happy sigh.

"Did you…did you have to plant so many bell peppers?"

* * *

Reviews are love! And if you want to keep up with this (and other stories I don't have to guts to post here) please check out my website! (it's an LJ comm). Replies are love there too, and if you have a livejournal, you can add it to your watchlist! I also write for Soul Eater, Pokemon, Code Geass, and various Tales of-- games. There's not much there yet but just wait!

community(dot)livejournal(dot)com(slash)enharmonica(slash)profile


	4. Too Young

S-So many reviews...! I love you guys. :'D Weeeell, this one came about in celebration of my first silkworm. I took a look at one through my camera and felt my heart melt. They're so CUTE. But for some reason, the first thought that popped into my head was that someone might not necessarily agree. And even though this was SUPPOSED to be about silkworms, it turned into something else entirely...pfft.

I would have posted this earlier actually, except that my brain was temporarily hijacked by Tales of Destiny. I posted a little oneshot "Waltz of Fate" a few days ago. If you're interested, check it out!

* * *

Gill didn't get it.

He knew they were relatively easy to take care of and that their silk brought in a respectable amount of income every four days but…they were _worms_. They just sat there in the chicken coop, stared at you, made weird clicking noises when you touched them, and occasionally popped out a cocoon to be put through the thread maker. He didn't see what was so cute about them.

His wife and daughter on the other hand…they thought otherwise.

"Papa, Papa! Guess what?" Emma burst into the house, her smile as bright as could be. Gill looked up from the book he was reading on the couch just in time for her to leap onto his lap. This surprised him; she was normally a fairly calm child…unless it had to do with a new book or her mother.

"What's wrong?" he asked, setting his slightly rumpled book aside so he could sit her down properly in front of him.

"Nothing's wrong!" she giggled, and it was then that Gill noticed she was delicately holding a blanket in her arms. There was something in there but he couldn't tell what. "Mama and me went to Horn Ranch today."

"Mama and _I_," he corrected automatically with a little smile before his attention turned to the bundle. He hoped it wasn't what he was beginning to suspect it was. "Is that so…?"

"Mmhm!" she grinned again before spinning around in his lap so her back was against his chest. "The baby co—calves were so cute! But I like the sheep the best. Miss Renee takes really good care of them so they're really soft and fluffy!"

"I see," Gill replied absently, still staring at the blanket. It was starting to wriggle. "Emma?"

"What?" she looked up and back at him upside-down.

"What's in the blanket?"

"Oh!" her face lit up once more and she rocked it gently back and forth a few times. "It's Silver!"

He blinked, having absolutely no idea what his daughter was talking about. "Silver?"

"Uh-huh! Mama said I could name him. I want him to make pretty silver silk like Minnie can!"

There was a long silence. "Emma. Is that…a silkworm?"

In response, Emma merely pulled back the blanket. Sure enough, a brand new pink silkworm sat there in her lap, looking mildly annoyed. However, once it saw Emma, it seemed to brighten a little and it clicked. "Well, of course, Papa! Isn't he so cute??"

Gill could feel his eyebrows furrow as he stared at the worm. It blinked several times at him and just continued to stare with its large black eyes. "I…guess so," he lied, feeling his stomach squirm a little. He liked the rest of the animals well enough; he just would never get used to silkworms. "But Emma, what did I tell you about bringing farm animals in the house?"

She pouted. "I just wanted him to meet his new grandpa!"

Gill all but choked. He couldn't say he was expecting _that_. "Wh-What??"

"Well. I'm going to be his new mama. And since you're my papa, that makes you a grandpa! And that makes grandpa…" she trailed off thoughtfully.

"A great-grandpa," he supplied, sounding just a little bit strangled. For some reason the thought of him being a grandpa unsettled him much more than the silkworm. Maybe it was because his daughter was only five. _Barely _five, at that.

She grinned back at him and continued cooing at the silkworm until Finn flew in from the open window. "Emma! Your mama needs to feed Silver," he bounced up and down happily, his hat almost slipping off his head.

Emma nodded and slid off of Gill's lap before dashing outside. "I'll do it!"

"Be careful, you don't want to hurt him!" the tiny harvest sprite called as he sped off after her towards the barn.

Gill continued to sit there long after they left, his gaze focused listlessly on the open door. It wasn't until Molly walked in that he snapped out of it enough to give her a tiny smile.

"Something wrong?" she asked, moving his book to the arm of the couch so she could take a seat next to him.

"Not…really," he replied, bringing a hand up to his forehead with a sigh, "Just that…I think I know how Julius feels when he talks about Angie not being allowed to date until she's 30," he mumbled.

Molly giggled and slid her arms around his middle. "Oh? Not ready to be a grandpa yet?"

He shook his head firmly. "Absolutely not."

Her giggle turned into a full out laugh. "Don't worry, I don't think we'll have to worry about that for a long time."

"I hope so…" he sighed again, his mind wandering to each of the Castanet boys and lingering on Van.

Molly turned to kiss his cheek. "No use thinking about it now. Anyway, I'm going to take Emma over to Harmonica town so she can borrow a book from Van. Do you want to come?"

Gill's response was immediate. "Yes." Ignoring his wife's quizzical look, he stood up to go outside and fetch Emma. Oh, he _definitely _had to agree with Julius on that one…

* * *

Gill and Julius are totally going to start a "MY DAUGHTER IS MY LIFE" club. Alternate title is, YOU TOUCH HER YOU DIE.

Though Emma might have one reason for naming the silkworm as such, I have another. :3c Anyone who gets the reference can give me a prompt, any prompt that fits into this series of oneshots, to write. A hint might or might not be found on my profile or writing journal...

Anyway! As always, reviews are love!


	5. Idiot Fathers

This chapter was MEANT to be reserved for something else entirely but a reader suggested that "Gill and Julius fight over who knows better, who is cooler and all" and for some reason I was able to pump out this baby in one afternoon/evening. That's the fastest I've written anything in a long time. I'm still not entirely sure I like how this turned out (and how little "screentime" Gill ended up getting in it pfft) but oh well. :D As usual, it's unbeta'd. Er...anyone want to apply? I'm really self conscious about grammar. You'd just have to put up with my extremely sporadic updates, ehe.

And by the way, **choochooshoe **got the right answer to the question I asked last chapter! Pffft I DID name my silkworm "Silver" because of Pokemon. And because you got it right, just give me a prompt and I'll write about it to the best of my ability! I look forward to what you think up~**  
**

* * *

"Um…lovely weather we're having."

Molly had to bite back the urge to burst out laughing as Candace nervously glanced back towards her home where both their husbands were arguing. "Y-You're right," she nearly giggled. "It always feels so nice the first clear day after the rain, especially in the spring."

Candace nodded, smiling a little as she finally turned her attention from the spectacle occurring in her front yard to the road leading to Marimba Farm in front of them. "I agree. I'm sure your animals are enjoying it too, right?" she added, causing Molly to giggle and nod in response. There was a small pause after that and Candace seemed to have to force herself not to look back again. "Do you…think they'll notice?" she asked softly instead, sounding a bit worried.

"Not one bit!" Molly replied cheerfully with a wide smile, rubbing her stomach contently as they slowly walked down the road.

Candace couldn't help but giggle at her friend's almost instantaneous reply and she finally relaxed. "I wonder if they'll still be there when we get back…" she commented idly, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Gill's pretty stubborn," Molly replied with an affectionate smile, turning her gaze to the dirt road that stretched on ahead. She paused for a few moments while Candace waited patiently for her to finish. "Though he knows how to recognize a pointless battle, he…well, this IS Emma we're talking about."

The other woman nodded knowingly in response. "Julius is normally not very confrontational…" _aside from certain things_ both of them knew, "But he's so very protective of Angie." She sighed and smoothed a stray wrinkle from her dress. "But honestly…it's a little silly."

"I say just let them be silly," Molly replied with ease, her smile widening with amusement as they began to near towards Chase and Maya's house. "There's no harm in it."

Candace decided to let the subject go for the time being and instead looked down to her friend's stomach. It had been growing steadily for the past few months and she was due sometime within the next month. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Hm?" Molly looked at her curiously for a moment before her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, just fine! The baby's a strong one, just like its sister. Emma would always wake me up in the middle of the night because she couldn't sit still…" she rubbed her stomach fondly and Candace smiled. She'd considered having another child too, but so far she and Julius had their hands full with just their four year old. Still, Angie was going to be five in a few months…

"Have you thought of any names?" she asked, forcing her mind away from the subject.

Molly gave a delicate shrug. "Gill's been putting a lot more thought into it than I have. There's a few that I like but he thinks they're too _plain_." She said the last word with somewhat of an annoyed frown. "He's been stuck in the French sections of the baby name books for the past few days so I'm waiting for his list." Candace laughed lightly at this and Molly sighed mournfully as she looked towards Chase and Maya's house as they passed. "Those two are lucky. They chose "Dakota" which can be for either a girl OR a boy. They won't have any problem once their baby is born."

"How is Emma taking it? She's not going to be the only girl in the house anymore."

"Well, we don't know the baby's gender yet but Emma is hoping for a little sister." she brightened up again. "Though even if it's a boy she says she's happy that she's going to be a big sister." With a sly grin, she then moved over a little to nudge Candace with her shoulder. "_Like Auntie Candace, _she said." Molly added, causing the other woman to blush.

"Mamaaaa!" Two voices called at them from a distance, causing both women to immediately drop their conversation and turn back towards the direction they came. In the distance they could see both Angie and Emma racing down the road, hand in hand, towards them. They waited for the children to catch up to them (both girls buried their faces in their mothers' dresses upon reaching them) and catch their breath before Candace knelt down to smooth out Angie's hair. Molly opted to simply brush Emma's windswept hair from her face and bend down slightly to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"What's the matter, you two?" she asked, looking between her daughter and Angie. "I thought you were playing dress up in Angie's room."

"We were but…" Emma trailed off before she glanced over at the other girl. Then, almost simultaneously, they frowned and puffed their cheeks out.

"Papa's being silly!"

"Papa's being dumb!"

Both women blinked and glanced at each other before returning their attention to their daughters. While Candace began to look worried again, Molly had to fight to keep the smile off her face. She wasn't doing so well, to say the least. "What do you mean, sweetie?" she asked.

Angie was the one who answered. "We wanted to show Papa and Uncle Gill our pretty dresses but then they started fighting!" Both women nodded at this; they had been there when the argument had started. However, the girls hadn't cared then and proceeded to retreat back to Angie's room to continue their dress up by themselves.

Emma chose to continue this time. "So me and Angie went to her room to play but then Papa came in talking about a festival and how Uncle Juli is…pious."

While Molly had no idea where Emma had learned the word "pious" (though she doubted her daughter even knew what it meant and was merely repeating it from somewhere) she did know what her husband probably DID say. "I think you mean "biased," Emma," she corrected gently, trying not to laugh. The young girl just nodded rapidly in response.

"That! But Uncle Juli just got mad and they started fighting again." She wilted and both girls looked like they were going to cry.

"Is Papa not going to let Emma come over anymore?" Angie asked in a small voice, clutching the front of her dress nervously.

Candace was quick to soothe her child. "Of course Emma can still come over! Your father was just being silly." With the last word she shot a look back at Molly that read _harmless, huh_? Molly just grinned nervously in response before engulfing Emma into a tight hug. Candace placed a gentle kiss on Angie's forehead before smiling warmly at her. "Do you and Emma want to help us pick out seeds? I think you're old enough to take care of your own small flower garden."

"Emma, you can help me plant some crops when we get home." Molly added, smoothing her hair back affectionately and biting back a chuckle when her ever-stubborn cowlick sprang right back up.

Both girls brightened. "Really?"

Emma, however, was quick to remember something and she tugged worriedly on her mother's hand. "But Mama, I thought Papa said you shouldn't work in the fields too much until the baby is born!"

Molly just laughed softly and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, you'll be helping me! Besides, it's almost the end spring and turnips don't take that long to grow.

Emma chewed on this piece of information before she finally nodded and grinned in response. "Okay!"

Both Candace and Molly sighed in relief as their daughters proceeded to skip over to the entrance of the building and quickly disappear inside. Crisis averted. Candace couldn't help but giggle a little as she clasped her hands in front of her once more. "Well…I'm sure that those two will notice now, now that Angie and Emma are missing."

Molly shook her head and sighed again. "Those two…I hope they at least realize how ridiculous they're being over this whole thing."

"I thought you said it was fine to let them be silly?" Candace raised a slender eyebrow at her in inquiry.

She rolled her eyes. "It was fine until they upset our daughters. Gill better understand that or I swear…"

As if on cue, a call in the distance grabbed their attention and they turned. It was much like a repeat from before except it was their husbands running down the road and they stopped a few feet in front of them in order to catch their breaths. Unsurprisingly, Julius was the least worn out of the two. Though he dressed fashionably and detested getting his clothes dirty if he could help it, he _was _a jeweler after all and spent a good amount of time in the mines when Mira needed new material. Gill on the other hand…he was a bit more of an indoor person. While this had changed a bit since he had married her, Molly knew that he very much preferred to read either inside or on their porch rather than get dirty in the fields with her.

Still, she loved him all the same.

"A-Angie's gone!" Julius was the first to speak and to say he looked absolutely distressed was an understatement. "I-I don't know what happened, one minute she was there in the house and the next…!"

"Emma's disappeared too!" While on the surface Gill looked somewhat calmer, Molly knew him well enough to know he was just as, if not more, anxious than Julius was. "I took my eyes off of her for only a moment…!"

Both women, however, just stared at them blankly. "They're inside." Candace responded flatly, her attitude suddenly a far cry from her normally gentle disposition. "What in the world was that all about?"

The men merely cringed a little under their wives' hard stares. Molly crossed her arms over her belly and pursed her lips. "You know, both Angie and Emma were nearly in tears because you were fighting, right? They thought they wouldn't be able to see each other anymore," she said.

Their faces paled and Gill was the first to speak up. "M-Molly, I know it, er, got a little out of hand but we were just—"

"You were what? Arguing over whose daughter is better? Gill, you know perfectly well that all four of us are biased."

"Julius, it doesn't really make a difference anyway. Besides, the girls certainly don't care about it one way or the other," Candace added, mirroring Molly's stance with a small frown.

"I—ah, Candace, I'm sorry, we—" Julius began with a shaky smile but both women huffed.

"We'll finish this when we get home," both said in unison before turning and disappearing after their daughters into the shop. Julius and Gill stood there for a moment before sending a quick glare in the other's direction. However, as soon as they made eye contact, their expressions softened and they heaved equally large sighs and sat down heavily on the steps of the building.

"I suppose…that _was_ a pretty silly argument, wasn't it…?"

"Mm-hm…"

From the front window of his house, Chase watched as the whole spectacle finally resolved itself…sort of. He continued to watch the two forlorn fathers for a few more moments before shaking his head and returning to the kitchen so he could get started on dinner early. "What a bunch of idiot dads…"

* * *

As always, reviews are love! Also, if you have the time, check out my livejournal! There's a link to the brand new Harvest Moon kink meme! If you don't know what that is, just check out the page, it'll tell you everything you need to know. A link to my LJ is in the "homepage" link of my profile and the link to the meme is there as well. It's just started but we already have a few requests! However, for a kink meme to flourish there needs to be fills as well! So come on, check it out! :D


	6. Compromise

I've had this story half-done on my flash drive since forever, ahaha. ;;; But I finally buckled down and decided to finish it once and for all. Although I should be buckling down for finals instead ahurr. I know I still owe you guys the last chapter of _Secrets _but even though I have things more or less planned out, it's decided it wants to be a pain to write. :/

Oh, and for any of you who were interested, thanks to all your wonderful reviews for _Inadequate_ I'm planning another one-shot collection sometime in the future (after I finish _Secrets_) dedicated to Ivan/Anita from Grand Bazaar. :D

Anyway, this one was inspired by a line that Gill says after marriage: "Don't try and move heavy things around. If you need me, just let me know." I found it amusing that although he says that he never actually DOES anything. You just continue on your merry way all the way until the day the baby is actually BORN. So I thought "What if he actually tried to do something...?"

Also, I haven't completely befriended Craig yet so forgive me if he seems somewhat out of character.

* * *

Gill could feel it slipping.

Though some might say he didn't have much to begin with, Gill always felt he had a certain level of masculinity. Though he was mostly a stay-at-home husband, only going to help his father out at the Town Hall a select few times a week, he did his best to carry his weight around the house. The fact that his wife was the "breadwinner" in the family never really bothered him.

Until now.

Molly was due in a week. It was their first child and Gill wasn't sure what to expect. He never really asked his father what his mother was like when she was pregnant, so he didn't have any reference whatsoever. But here was his wife, as pregnant as could be, still waddling around and taking care of the farm. He did his best to ease her workload, but the most she put him in charge of was watering the crops. It had long since been decided that Gill wouldn't be allowed near the animals, as not a single one trusted him. Again, that never really bothered him until now. He knew he wasn't a farmer by any means and that he preferred to take care of the housework instead but things were different now. Although he had no real experience in helping run a farm, he wanted to do more. His wife was in no shape for heavy physical labor and yet she continued on with her work day after day.

Unfortunately though, Molly was prone to mood swings so whenever he felt the need to take over more of the work it would always end up in them arguing over something or another. It always kind of frightened Gill every time argued; how could his bright and gentle wife start a screaming match like that? Though the instances were far and in between, their arguments sometimes escalated to the point where even her tiny Harvest Sprite friend would flee to take shelter in the barn with the animals. He just counted himself lucky that both he and Finn talked her out of mining early on. That was the one thing he put his foot down on.

What worried him the most, however, was how she still traveled all around Castanet. He felt infinitely more comfortable when she stuck close to home, but Molly wouldn't have any of it. Every day she would get on her horse and first travel over to Flute Fields, then to the mining district, then finally over to Harmonica Town before heading back home. Though he'd tried, he wasn't able to convince her to do anything otherwise. Here, his only consolation was that Euphie seemed to sense what was going on and she took extra care carrying Molly from place to place.

So to sum it up…he felt useless.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind."

Gill jumped at the voice and all but whirled around. He didn't realize that he'd spaced out like that. Behind him, Craig stood there with a slightly amused smile on his face, as if he was torn between that or being annoyed with the fact that the younger man was in the way. Gill felt his cheeks flare up a bit in embarrassment and he stepped to the side to let him pass. "Y-Yes, sorry…"

A few minutes of silence passed as Gill continued to make records of Marimba's expected output for the spring season and notes for profitable crops and more efficient harvesting processes to use back home. It was something Gill decided to take up after marrying Molly. Even if he couldn't help out at the farm, he still wanted to be useful in any way possible. He was so caught up in his work that he jumped again when Craig spoke up for a second time. "Well?"

"Wh-What?" He looked up from his clipboard where he was taking notes to look at the older man once more.

Craig sighed and all but rolled his eyes. "Anyone can tell you're worried about _something._"

Gill didn't reply for a few moments before deciding to play it off as something else. His lips curved into a sheepish smile and he gestured to his clipboard. "Ah, no, I was just…wondering, since it's still fairly early in the season, if it would be more beneficial to focus on renewable crops such as strawberries since they can offer more money in—"

"Don't get smart with me, boy." Craig set the box he'd been carrying down and crossed his arms, looking more than mildly annoyed this time. "Take a look at your paper first before trying to lie to me like that."

Confused, Gill glanced down at his clipboard and immediately felt his face begin to burn again. What was on the paper was little more than a bunch of scribbles. He hadn't even noticed that he'd even failed to write in straight lines, having written some sentences on top of each other instead. When he looked up again, Craig was wearing a small smirk and Gill couldn't think of anything to say. "I…well…"

He shook his head and picked up his crate once more and moved to set it in its proper place on the front display. "Problems at home?" he asked mildly, dusting his hands on his pants as he straightened up. "Not that I particularly care. It's your business."

Gill had to bite back the retort that Craig seemed awfully interested in his business just moments before. He knew that getting into an argument like that was pointless and he didn't particularly feel like getting on the older man's bad side. "No, things are just fine. Molly's due in a week, actually."

Craig nodded knowingly. "I hope you're well prepared for those first few months. Get your sleep now while you can."

Gill couldn't help but chuckle at that. He'd more or less heard the same thing from Jin just a few days ago during one of his wife's periodic checkups. "It's what I keep hearing," he replied. It was then that a thought occurred to him. Craig was a father as well, of two children no less. He'd be able to talk to him, right? "Actually…there's been something on my mind and I was wondering if I could talk to you about it."

"Shoot." Craig nodded again, leaning back against one of the display tables and crossing his arms again.

"Er, well…" Gill slowly ripped off the top paper from his clipboard—the one he'd inadvertently been scribbling on earlier—and folded it up before putting it in his back pocket. "It's about Molly…I mean, she's due in a week and yet she still—"

"She's still traveling all over Castanet as if nothing's wrong, right?" Craig finished his sentence, surprising him.

"Y-Yes," he nodded uncomfortably.

"Ruth was the same way before both Anissa and Taylor were born." Craig chuckled softly, more to himself than anyone else. "We always argued and she absolutely refused to simply sit around the house." There was a pause and he couldn't help but laugh. "Sound familiar?"

Embarrassed, Gill nodded. "Painfully so."

"To be honest, I was surprised when I saw her here a few months ago, after she really started showing," he continued, pushing himself lightly off the table. "I know how much you worry about her. But when I asked, she just said that she convinced you it was fine."

"In a way…" Gill replied with a small frown, thinking back on one of their many arguments. He sighed. "I still don't understand, Molly's usually such a gentle person…"

"Don't argue with a pregnant woman. You'll lose." Craig said sagely, giving the younger man a rather uncharacteristic pat on the shoulder.

It didn't help Gill feel better one bit, however. "But…even now, she's taking care of most of the farm. I'm trying to do more so she doesn't have to worry about so many things but she won't let me take over anything. She's still the one making the money for the both of us and I just…" He trailed off, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples wearily.

Craig paused for a few seconds, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Why don't you try working with her instead of trying to take over everything?" When Gill chose to look back at him with surprise, he just raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "You mean you really hadn't thought about that?"

He blinked. No, he honestly hadn't thought about it. He'd been so focused on trying to carry his own weight and doing more of the farm chores that he hadn't even considered working together with her as an option. "No, I—"

Craig rolled his eyes. "I swear…Go home. Talk to your wife. And if you come in tomorrow, make yourself more useful, got it?"

Feeling rather embarrassed with himself for the third time that day, Gill just nodded and quietly thanked him before rushing out the front door as fast as he could.

-.-.-.-.-

"I'm home…"

"Welcome back, Gill!" Even now, he couldn't help the smile from blooming across his face as he looked at his wife, who was beaming at him from the couch. Both their dogs kept close by her side; their collie, Colette, lazily sprawled out on the cushion next to her right while their Pyrenees, Percy, laid on top of her feet on the floor. The newest addition to the family, a black cat Molly had decided to dub "Blaire" was curled up on the back, eyeballing the yarn that sat to her left. His wife held a pair of knitting needles in her hands and a manual rested on her knees. From the way the yarn was so gnarled up, Gill could guess that she'd been at it for a while, only knitting a few rows before taking all apart to start over again. "You're home early! So how was it today?"

"The same," he replied easily, slipping off his shoes before making his way over to her. He gently shooed Colette off the couch so he could sit down next to Molly and give her a kiss. The dog whined softly but otherwise didn't protest as she relocated down to the floor with Percy. "Where's Finn?"

"In his drawer," she said, her smile softening. "He spent the day keeping an eye on the animals for me so he's exhausted."

Gill opened his mouth to respond, but something caught his attention. "You…didn't go out today?" he asked, glancing back over at the coat rack that stood near the front door. His wife's coat, which she still wore even in spring when the wind continued to have a bit of a bite to it, hung exactly as she had left it the previous afternoon.

Molly shook her head and looked back at her knitting needles. "Mm-mm. I decided to stay close to home today. Candace and Julius dropped by earlier this afternoon with these though. She was trying to teach me, since she's already making some for when Angie gets older. But…" she held up the mess of yarn that she had collected in her lap. "I'm still, um, getting the hang of it."

Gill just chuckled. "Practice makes perfect."

She grinned at him in return before setting everything aside and wiggling her feet. "Time to start dinner then. Percy, time to move." The dog let out a grunt but complied, getting up and moving over to resume his nap behind the couch with a small whuff.

Before she could stand up, however, Gill gently but firmly grasped her arm. When she looked at him curiously, he hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Listen, Molly, about your work tomorrow…"

Immediately, her eyes narrowed and she let out a loud sigh before shaking her head and trying to rise to her feet once more. "Please, Gill, not again…I don't want us to start fighting again. You know I can—"

"I'm not asking to take over any more of the work," he cut in quickly, not wanting her to shut down and simply refuse anything he had to say afterwards. He waited until she relaxed and resumed her seat next to him before continuing. "I just want to help you. Work with you, I mean. I know the animals don't like me very much but if you're there then I believe that with two people then we can finish everything a lot faster. It's a compromise, at least for the next few weeks. Please." He gave her arm a small squeeze. He knew he was practically begging her but he wanted her and the baby to be safe, pride be damned.

She didn't reply right away, instead choosing to stare at him for a few moments before heaving another sigh. He didn't know what was running through her head but his heart leapt when she finally gave him a nod in return. "Just…_please _be careful around the animals, okay?"

Gill simply nodded back, a wide smile quickly making its way to his lips before he kissed her. "Promise."

Though her face pinked at the sudden gesture, she grinned widely and finally stood up. "How does seafood paella sound for tonight? I've been in the mood for fish all day long."

"Sounds good," he replied breezily, standing up with her. "Do you need any help?"

Molly shook her head. "I'm fine. But…" she paused, taking his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. "Let's do it together."

Gill chuckled was they both wandered over to the kitchen where the cat was already waiting. "That's fine with me."

And he hoped that, even when they were old and gray, they would still continue to do things like this at the end of the day. Together.

* * *

Argh, stupid site, deleting my one and only line break. 8I

Anyway, don't forget to review! :D And make sure to check out the Harvest Moon Kink Meme as well! There's already a lot of requests there and we just got our first fill not too long ago! Don't be afraid to check it out, seriously. The link is in my profile!


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